Basque Mountains

Basque Mountains
Alluitz, typical limestone mountain of the Basque range.
Highest point
Peak	Aizkorri
Elevation	1,551 m (5,089 ft)
Coordinates	42°57′N 02°19′W / 42.950°N 2.317°W / 42.950; -2.317Coordinates: 42°57′N 02°19′W / 42.950°N 2.317°W / 42.950; -2.317
Geography
Country	Spain
Communities	Basque Country and Navarre
Parent range	Cantabrian Range
Borders on	Pyrenees
Geology
Type of rock	limestone

The Basque Mountains (Spanish: Montes vascos; Basque: Euskal Herriko arkua, "Basque arc") are a mountain range situated in the northern Iberian Peninsula. Geographically it is considered as the eastern section of the larger Cantabrian Range. The range runs through the Basque Autonomous Community and western Navarre.

The Basque Mountains are a transitional range between two major ones, the Cantabrian range to the west and the Pyrenees to the east. Geologists call the area "The Basque threshold" and some consider that the Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees are a single greater range and the Basque Mountains are just part of both [1].

There are two parallel sub-ranges running from west to east, the inner one and the coastal one. In between them there is a 500 m high plateau called "Llanada Alavesa" (Alava Plains) where Vitoria-Gasteiz is located. East of the Llanada a narrow valley called Burunda and its follow-up Barranca (or Sakana in Basque) separate the two ranges, with Urbasa-Andia located to the south and Aralar to the north. The valley harbours major infrastructures linking Vitoria-Gasteiz and Pamplona.

The Basque coastal range forms the water divide of the Mediterranean and Atlantic basins, the climate north of the range is milder and oceanic, typical of the so-called green Spain, while to the south of the coastal range and in the inner range winters are cold and snowy and summers drier and hotter than in the northern range, in general the climate in the Basque municipalities south of this range is more Mediterranean with some Continental traits, showing less precipitation and much colder winters than those coastal municipalities north of the range.